South Warner Wilderness
Modoc National Forest · near Alturas / Cedarville · Shasta Cascade
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Route type
- loop
- Distance
- 27 miles
- Elevation gain
- 4,500 ft
- Time needed
- multi-day
- Best season
- July–September
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No permit or quota required for the South Warner Wilderness — self-register at trailheads. Free California Campfire Permit for stoves. The remotest corner of California, in the far northeast.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 1 of 5
What is here
- Features
- California's loneliest wilderness · Summit Trail ridgewalk · Eagle Peak (9,892 ft) · Fault-block escarpment over the Great Basin
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Nights
- 2–4
- Resupply
- None needed. No bear canister required; hang food. Water at meadow springs — verify late season.
- Intl tip
- The Summit Trail ridgewalk is the highlight; do it as a shuttle or out-and-back for the big views. Fuel and supplies are scarce out here — stock up in Alturas before heading in. Because it's so remote and permit-free, you'll likely have the wilderness essentially to yourself even in peak summer.
The guide
The South Warner Wilderness, in the far northeastern corner of California in remote Modoc County, is as far from the state's cr…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to South Warner Wilderness — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 41.33, -120.2